Living in Essex Township, MI: what to set up and who to call
Essex Township runs its own elections, so the Essex Township Clerk, not a county office, keeps the voter rolls. Most of Essex Township has one wired internet choice: CMS Internet.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Essex Township, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Essex Township.
Power comes from Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy (Consumers Energy Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Essex Township. Its homes paid an average of 20.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $134 a month (its average across Michigan).
Start or move service: consumersenergy.com · (800) 477-5050
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Village of Maple Rapids water system
The Village of Maple Rapids water system supplies Essex Township: about 32% of residents live in its service area. About 68% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 643 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 1.1 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 55% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MI0004060.
6 home internet providers serve Essex Township
90% of 816 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 81% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS Internet | Fixed wireless, Fiber | 73% | 1,000/1,000 |
| HomeWorks Connect | Fiber | 45% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | DSL, Fiber | 35% | 10/1 |
| Point Broadband | Fixed wireless | 84% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 70% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 11% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Essex Township’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Essex Township.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Essex Township (44%) is in St. Johns Public Schools; parts are in Fulton Schools (38%) and Fowler Public Schools (19%).
A−School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Essex Township spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Essex Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Essex Township | ZIP’s residents in Essex Township |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48879 | Saint Johns, MI | 59% | 6% |
| 48853 | Maple Rapids, MI | 30% | 100% |
| 48835 | Fowler, MI | 11% | 8% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Essex Township
Who supplies Essex Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Village of Maple Rapids water system (EPA ID MI0004060). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.1 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Essex Township?
Consumers Energy (Consumers Energy Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 20.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Essex Township?
CMS Internet, HomeWorks Connect, Frontier, Point Broadband, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Essex Township?
48879 (59%), 48853 (30%), 48835 (11%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Essex Township in?
St. Johns Public Schools. Parts of the city are in Fulton Schools and Fowler Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Essex Township?
In Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Essex Township Clerk. Check your registration at mvic.sos.state.mi.us.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.